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Wednesday, 31 October 2007

But I would hope to all hopes that a few, at least a few Malaysians would finally say the magic word: ENOUGH.

And yes, enough is enough.

In fact, it is more than enough.

Malaysia is in a mess like it has never been before.

There has not been a time when corruption was this blatant and rampant, in spite of the promises of eradicating (or at least attempting to) it.

Sadly, the attempts were so feeble that the corrupt and wicked among us have been emboldened.

The people have been threatened. The bloggers. The dissenters. The lawyers. Even the Supreme Ruler, our Agong has not been spared from rebuke for refusing to renew the appointment of the Chief Justice.

WE HAVE A RIGHT TO DEMAND CHANGE.

And we need change like we never have before.

Everyday, we citizens get up early in the morning to face the traffic jam. The traffic jam caused by the lack of proper roads systems. Lack of proper train transportation networks.

Why?

Because the money that has been allocated in the transportation budget has gone to pay for items at ludicrously expensive prices. Or to pay for someone's unnecessary overseas, factoring all the even more unnecessary consorts.

But, you're still paying tax. Except you're not getting the value for the service that you're paying for.

You probably get out of that traffic jam only to head straight for the toll booth where you fork out some hard earned cash to travel on roads that aren't all that great to begin with. The prices will increase in the very near future.

If the jam wasn't too bad, you head straight for the parking lot of your office. If not, make a detour at the petrol station to fill up that ageing Proton of yours that guzzles petrol like some old drunk during Happy Hour.

You think that hurts your pocket? The prices will increase in the very near future.

I don't need to remind you that the process repeats itself after work, of course.

Things will not change unless YOU decide it should.

Unless you decide that you want reform. For yourself, for your spouse and children, for your parents, for your friends and those you love.

You can make a difference.

You can initiate the change by letting the right people know you want it.

By gathering at Dataran Merdeka to march to the Istana Negara. By sacrificing one afternoon. Just one.

Monday, 29 October 2007

Malaysia's PM seems to be failing his people at every chanceby Michael BackmanThe AgeOctober 24, 2007

ON OCTOBER 31, Abdullah Badawi, Malaysia's Prime Minister, will have been in office for four years. Abdullah came to office promising to fight corruption and to be a breath of fresh air. He has failed on both counts.

But he has achieved one remarkable feat none of his predecessors could: he has united most of his country's elder statesmen, established businessmen and intellectuals.

They are united in their utter dismay at his performance, a point that many such individuals made to me on a recent visit to Malaysia.

The despair is compounded by the near impossibility of getting rid of Abdullah.

Before 1987, anyone who wanted to challenge the president of the ruling UMNO party (and hence prime minister), needed to get endorsements from just two divisions of UMNO. Previous prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had that changed after his finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah challenged him for the leadership and almost won.

Would-be challengers must now acquire the endorsement of 30 per cent, or 58, of 191 divisions. This means that the prime minister's office needs to pay off fewer than 150 division heads with government contracts and licences to ensure their support.

Critics within UMNO are anaesthetised by patronage and sadly the Prime Minister probably thinks that he is doing a good job because his inner circle constantly tells him he is. He is their ticket to riches, after all.

Ramadan has just ended and once again Malaysia has been treated to the spectacle of government ministers and other officials fasting and playing the pious Muslim on the one hand and stealing from their fellow Malaysians on the other.

Abdullah has had three chances in recent times to show that times have changed in Malaysia and to clearly assert his authority when presented with examples of such theft. He has blown each one.

The first was when it emerged that his Trade Minister, Rafidah Aziz, had handed out to her relatives, government officials and former officials hundreds of lucrative licences to import cars - without any clear procedures or transparency. A good leader would have fired Rafidah immediately. She is still there.

Another opportunity arose with revelations by the auditor-general last month of fraud and corruption in government purchasing. Some of the more flagrant abuses were at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs. It had wasted millions on purchases such as paying 224 ringgit ($A75) for sets of screwdivers worth 40 ringgit, or 1146 ringgit for a 160 ringgit pen set.

More seriously, the ministry's head, who had the authority to approve contracts worth less than 5 million ringgit, was found to have approved contracts for almost 450 million ringgit. The ministry claimed that the then minister and now Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had written a letter of authority for the purchases but this disappeared during auditing. Despite all this occurring under Hishammuddin's watch, he remains in the cabinet.

The third incident relates to an ongoing scandal at the Port Klang Free Trade Zone - Port Klang is Malaysia's main shipping port. Essentially, the port authority was forced by well-connected individuals to buy far more land than planned for the free trade zone and at highly inflated prices, even though it could have compulsorily acquired the land, literally saving billions.

This and development costs, and "professional fees", blew out the total cost for the zone from 1.845 billion ringgit to 4.2 billion ringgit. It is a scam of outrageous proportions and is just the sort of thing that is turning foreign investors off Malaysia in their droves.

Rather than make arrests, the Government is using taxpayers' funds to bail out the authority. The auditor-general tipped off the responsible minister (a term I use loosely) - Chan Kong Choy, the Transport Minister - about the problems, as did a foreign partner in the zone, but Chan ignored the warning. Has Abdullah fired Chan? Of course not. Has the previous minister Ling Liong Sik been questioned by the police? Of course not.

These three instances were good opportunities for Abdullah to show his ministers who is boss. Well, he certainly did that.

One might ask what on earth the Finance Minister has been doing in the face of all this waste and theft. Or, indeed, even who is the Finance Minister? Extraordinarily, it is Abdullah. In a break with tradition, he occupies that post as well as being Prime Minister. The firings should start with him.

After all, it's not as if Malaysia has a shortfall of ministers. On the contrary, Malaysia has no fewer than 72 ministers and deputy ministers at the federal level. By way of comparison, Australia has 32 ministers and assistant ministers. Is the quality of public administration in Malaysia more than twice as good as in Australia? Let the facts speak for themselves.

Malaysia is truly at a cross-roads. It has many good people with great potential but it is slipping beneath the waves of mediocrity, weighed down by officials intent on an orgy of plunder while the ship's captain stands idly by.

The process of government needs to be dramatically and urgently overhauled. Malaysia needs a dynamic, strong visionary leader who is up to the task. Instead, it has Abdullah Badawi.

I decided I wasn't completely qualified and knowledgeable to comment on Justice Hishamudin but Human Rights lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar (whom I recently featured in conjunction with Article 11) has this to say about him:

I have the highest regard and the deepest admiration for this man of principle. I moved the Court for the order suspending the re-arrest Ghani Haroon and Gobalakrishnan.

Justice Hishamudin’s sense of fair play and justice came to the fore that day as he recognized that a re-arrest would be inhumane. It was a defining moment, and it shaped my understanding of how far the interests of justice could be advanced with a just man on the bench.

He embodies all the qualities that a Judge should have. His humility, patience and judicious temperament are well known at the Bar as is his willingness to learn from the lawyers appearing before him.

Which takes me to my point. With all these qualities and more, why is Justice Hishamudin still a High Court judge? He was elevated to the High Court bench in 1995. He has an excellent track record. Judges elevated after him have made it to the Federal Court, a court in which Justice Hishmudin should be sitting.

Perhaps it is these very qualities, cherished by the Bar, that has kept Justice Hishamudin in the High Court.

Read the whole post here, it is too good to miss. It especially points out why this ruling does NOT represent an independent judiciary.

The tycoon, who turned 90 in April this year, was renowned for his vision in transforming Genting Highlands from an unexplored hilltop to one of the world's most successful casino resorts.

The fifth child in a family of seven children, Lim migrated from China's Fujian province in 1937 at the age of 19 with only a small suitcase and US$175.

The idea of a hill resort was chanced upon by Lim amidst the crisp air of Cameron Highlands in 1964. Lim was then working on a hydro-electric power project at the popular hill resort, patronised mostly by British colonials seeking cool refuge from the tropical heat, when he foresaw a prosperous Malaysia of the future desiring a cool mountain holiday resort within the reach of all Malaysians.

To date, Genting Highlands Resort has five hotels and two apartment blocks at the hilltop and Awana Genting Highlands Golf and Country Resort.

The company, founded in 1965, has since expanded and diversified from its initial hotel and resort activities to plantations, properties, paper manufacturing, power generation, oil and gas, electronic commerce and information technology development under Genting Group.

According to Forbes Asia, the Genting Group founder was third richest in the country with a net worth of US$4.3bil (RM14.6bil).

Lim is survived by wife Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua, and their six children and 19 grandchildren.

1) Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

2) No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own.

3) Every religious group has the right - (a) to manage its own religious affairs; (b) to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes; and (c) to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law.

4) State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.

5) This Article does not authorize any act contrary to any general law relating to public order, public health or morality.

We're obviously violating our own Constitution.

Take for instance the case of Moorthy Maniam, who allegedly converted to Islam before his death. For some bizarre reason, the Islamic Religious Council decided to claim him as "their own".

The judge told the widow and her family to go back and leave the body of their beloved to be buried by strangers.

A fight broke out at the hospital when about 50 people began to shout abusive language at Moorthy's family; the situation was brought under control by military police.

In fact, police presence was required even at the burial to ensure no further hostilities ensued.

But the government is not interested in listening to this man called Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, who founded the Article 11 group. Who initiated forums to improve understanding and promote discussion.

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar attained fame and notoriety for representing Lina Joy, a Malay who converted from Islam to Christianity and is being denied a place in this country simply for her uncommon beliefs.

Even the hallowed editors of The New York Times found this entire fiasco in an unknown little country called Malaysia worthy of newsprint.

Trust me, Malaysia as a country gained more fame then than our space fiasco did.

Of course, it could be the exclusive honour of being the recipient of a death threat.

With the heading “Wanted Dead,” the message featured a photograph of Malik Imtiaz and said: “This is the face of the traitorous lawyer to Islam who supports the Lina Joy apostasy case. Distribute to our friends so they can recognize this traitor. If you find him dead by the side of the road, do not help.”

And we're sending people to space?? Bloody hell. We live in the stone age! :(

But all is not lost; Malik Imtiaz has a blog called Disquiet. Excellent stuff in there - he is obviously a brilliant man.

So why this sudden fanaticism to bury people, convert their children, dogs and what-have-you?

Saturday, 20 October 2007

I got this link in my email a while back. It was a rather long video called At The Crossroads - Malaysia on youtube that someone had made of the religious conflict in Malaysia.

It sickened all of us who saw it. To think of 50 years of meaningless "unity" -- frankly, it is a farce of what harmony actually means.

You know?

Nice.

I didn't know Islam condones lying, sir.

Though it wouldn't be the first time he's lying, folks.

He is the one and the same Mufti who was guilty of inciting racial hatred when he carelessly repeated a false accusation over the baptising of some Indian estate children at a church in Ipoh.

This incident happened on Nov 5 at the Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Jalan Silibin, Ipoh where a large group of Muslims gathered outside the church on being informed via the SMS sent by our good Mufti that Azhar Mansor was to baptise a group of Muslims there.

A riot nearly broke out over careless rumours.

But forget about religious conversions.

Imagine what would happen if the Indians and Chinese said that Malays were bullying them? Kerises would be waved, stones would be thrown, blood be shed, riots and destruction would be everywhere.

Kenzo12 sums it up in his comment:

I am a Malaysian and am so ashamed and have no confidence in Malaysia. We are supposed to be a multicultural society with equal rights. When i see those advertisements about tourism Malaysia...theyre trying to sell Malaysia as so harmonious and happy....how sad....i feel so fake.

Thursday, 18 October 2007

His take on why our space boy has been blasted to glory. In more ways than one.

Muszaphar suffered from two handicaps:

(1) He is a Melayu (Malay), hence his candidature has been (and still is) immediately a suspect! Whether he was the best candidate is totally irrelevant - he would automatically be seen by many hostile to the BN as someone picked because the colour of his skin or his political affiliation or connections.

(2) He hops on what has been seen as a BN rather than Malaysian effort to introduce space flights, admittedly at a ludicrous fee, into our span of activities - bad boy!

How they painstakingly managed to piece back the digitally altered images is beyond me. Bloody Germans. They're wizards when it comes to technology! The reconstructed photos were posted on Interpol's website.

Turns out the ruse worked.

Three days after Interpol published the pictures, Christopher Neil fled his home in South Korea and flew to Bangkok. Thai police believe he has not yet crossed the border, but all neighbouring countries have been notified just in case he gives them the slip.

What is really scary is that he was an English teacher and had all the access to children he could have ever wanted or needed.

Police have been hunting the bastard for three whole years, ever since German police found online pictures of him abusing under-age Asian boys.

And yes, it would be Asians. After all, they're plentiful and expendable anyway.

Monday, 15 October 2007

You think it's going to be a quiet, uneventful evening at the airport except that disoriented stowaways end up falling all over your runway.

The poor boys at Changi.

They ought to know better if it's a flight coming from Malaysia.

Osama R.M. Shublaq (and you'd think he'd lie low with a name like that) snuck into the nose wheel crevice of the SIA flight SQ199 at KLIA and stunned the Changi Airport ground crew waiting to serve the aircraft, when he fell out from the Boeing 777-200.

I suppose those kind of occurences don't happen on a daily basis.

Osama was apparently dizzy due to a lack of oxygen. Yeah well. Heights can do that to you.

Apparently, the dude crawled from one of the drains in darkness to get to the aircraft at about 9pm on Thursday.

I figure the airport must have been sparsely staffed; every other security personnel off to balik kampung.

Osama was charged in a Singapore court on Friday with entering Singapore without a valid pass or permit. If convicted, he could be jailed for up to six months, caned three strokes or more, or fined up to 6,000 Singapore dollars.

(Reuters) - Bombardier Inc. (BBDb.TO: Quote) said it, along with a Malaysian partner, received an additional order for 52 commuter trains valued at about $100 million from Malaysian state infrastructure firm Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad.

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad is a 100% government-owned company which was set up to own STAR-LRT, Putra-LRT and Rapid-KL after deeming them as failed privatisation projects.

This is interesting, because the Putraline, which is apparently the longest fully automated, driverless transit system in Asia, was initially due to receive 88 advanced rapid transit (ART) MK II cars - earliest in September 2008.

The original agreement included options for 52 additional cars, which has now obviously been taken. Should all options be exercised, the entire contract would total 140 cars.

That's a huge addition.

I wonder if this is only for the Putraline or if it extends to the STARline. It would obviously have to be a different configuration as the Putra is driverless, while the STAR is manned.

"For years, images of this man sexually abusing children have been circulating on the Internet," Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said.

"We have tried all other means to identify and to bring him to justice, but we are now convinced that without the public's help this sexual predator could continue to rape and sexually abuse young children whose ages appear to range from six to early teens."

Makes you wonder what kind of animal picks on 6 year olds.

So while parents keep a close eye on their daughters in view of the recent Nurin Jazlin case, the sons need equal attention.

Saturday, 6 October 2007

But only logical myopia, mind you. I can still see other objects clearly and this boy has the most dazzling smile I've seen in a long time. Damn!!

It appears that most Malaysians are divided in their opinion over this space programme.

Certain parties are delighted over the choice of candidate, in particular, X-Eyed Jules, who believes that his aesthetic qualities especially, should be milked.

Unfortunately because he is so good-looking some jealous souls have been cruel enough to spread rumours that the good doctor bats for the other side (I heard this from a 10 year old boy, believe it or not)..

..Imagine if a foreign female has never met a Malaysian male before (and doesn't know any 10-year old Malaysians) and she sees DSM’s mug on the NASA website. Wouldn’t that provide a wonderful first impression?..

.. I could already see the Tourism Minister planning a campaign to woo shallow female tourists to Malaysia on the back of DSM’s fame.

Then again, X-Eyed Jules cannot be accused of being myopic; he is already cross-eyed anyway. :)

If I was consumed with pure envy, I would say pretty boy is gay. But I don't think he is, and wouldn't care if he was (I don't stand a chance anyway!).

But again, I'm still more concerned with the purpose and outcome of this whole programme which is costing us a bomb.

I do wonder. Are we really expected to be proud of our "astronauts" when they have not done anything exceptionally spectacular beyond donning a space-suit? Malaysia Boleh? Boleh apa? Pakai baju?

A Voice says, "This is our first trip up and its not our space craft. Before we run, shouldn't we learn to walk."

This is not learning to walk, much less run. This is being carried, which serves no purpose whatsoever.

Let's look at the definition of ASTRONAUT:

An astronaut or cosmonaut (Russian) is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft.

Until 2003, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, either by the military, or by civilian space agencies. However, with the first sub-orbital flight of the privately-funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut. With the rise of space tourism, NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency agreed to use the term "spaceflight participant" to distinguish those space travelers from astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies.

Pass a strict physical examination, and have a distant visual acuity no greater than 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Blood pressure, while sitting, must be no greater than 140 over 90.

Commander and PilotBachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics is required, and a graduate degree is desired, although not essential. At least l,000 hours flying time in jet aircraft, and experience as a test pilot is desirable. Height must be 64 inches (5.33 ft) to 76 inches (6.33 ft).

Mission SpecialistBachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics, as well as at least three years of related professional experience. Applicant's height must be 62 inches (5.17 ft) to 76 inches (6.33 ft).

Now engineers are highly boring individuals. No one really makes movies or dramas about us. The only field we seem to excel in is in aerospace, and even that is a highly competitive field.

Trust me, I know. At the risk of exposing my identity and/or blogging about work, I have a degree in Aerospace Engineering, majoring in Aeronautics and minoring in Astronautics.

And even I have no business being up in space. I'm just not qualified. Period.

Assuming I was born in the USA and had a fighting chance, I only have a bachelor's degree and no experience in the armed forces, which seems to be an unspoken requirement.

Those of you who remember Lisa Nowak, who gained brief notoriety for her diaper and stalking fiasco, will know that she received a BS degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985. Nowak received an MS degree in aeronautical engineering and a degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering in 1992 from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

Nowak received her commission from the U.S. Navy in 1985 and became a naval flight officer in 1987. After her postgraduate studies Nowak entered Aerospace Engineering Duty and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. She has logged over 1,500 hours of flight in over 30 different aircraft during her career in the Navy, and has obtained the rank of captain.

Now that's an astronaut - cuckoo or not. How does our jaguh kampung compare?

..let me reiterate the Space Participant knew about the glorified publicity stunt for Barisan Najis at the cost of tax payers' money all along. For my contribution of tax money, I can call his ass anything I want, dude. You can call him 'Angkasawan', I call him Instellar Numb Nut. ;)

You tell 'em, Mob!

Don't tell me Malaysians in general are so stupid to think that being an astronaut revolves solely around wearing a bloody space suit and getting launched into space.

At least there is hope for ONE Malaysian - Mob gets it right when he says:

Real astronauts spend their entire lives preparing for these moments and behind them are hundreds and thousands of engineers, technicians, ground support, crew and etc backing him/her up for the flight.

EXACTLY!!

And I don't give a rat's ass to what the Russians say. They're benefitting from Malaysian gross stupidity. I would think there is someone smooth enough to do the PR thingy. And yes, apparently, there's the fluent Bahasa Indonesia-speaking diplomat in the form of Alexander Karchava.

Tuesday, 2 October 2007

The United Nations General Assembly today decided to observe the International Day of Non-Violence each year on 2 October – the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who helped lead India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

Now that sounds a little sensationalised, but BBC could probably get away with it because we do and say stupid things anyway. So what's a bit of embellished news to us?

But I still cannot fathom why Gwen Stefani adhered to those dress codes. She didn't have to.

Activists had earlier called for her gig to be cancelled, owing to "fears" that her raunchy costumes could "corrupt" the country's youth.

For the information of those activists in question, the country's youth is ALREADY corrupted. Please refer to all those home videos of girls flinging off their tudungs in parks to do the horizontal tango with their boyfriends. It should be evidence enough.

And I doubt those moves were taught by raunchy western foreign artistes with "low moral values".

Monday, 1 October 2007

Remember the first time the toilet campaign was unveiled with pizzazz and great ceremony, much to the embarrassment of a number of Malaysians?

Now that the hype is over, it appears we've decided to get down and dirty - to set up a squad ensuring our toilets STAY clean. A gargantuan feat, in my opinion. And I certainly don't envy whoever's been tasked with snooping for ... nevermind.

AdelaideNow is having fun with a piece written about our 'toilet squad' - in fact, too much fun with puns.